November 2014

November 25, 2014

Last week I had the incredible opportunity to spend 5 days exploring Istanbul, Turkey with my wife and a couple good friends. Prior to my move to Denver, I previously lived abroad in Turkey, so it is always a treat to be back in that enchanting land where the history and culture are a unique blend of ancient and modern, Christian and Muslim, and East and West — Istanbul is literally situated on two continents!

Below is a series of photographs I captured throughout our week to document our travels. My hope is that these images would awaken an interest in you to consider studying abroad for a semester. Over 70% of DU undergraduate students take advantage of this transformational opportunity to study at one of 150 different locations across the globe. The University of Denver strives to make studying abroad accessible to all students through the Cherrington Global Scholars program, which supports students by covering many costs such as visa fees, residence permits, and even travel fare!

Take a moment to dream of what your semester abroad might look like. If there were no limits, where would you go?

Wake up each morning to a leisurely Turkish breakfast complete with fresh fruits, vegetables, hard cheeses, and multiple glasses of çay (Turkish tea.)

Hop a ride on a ferryboat to criss-cross the Bosporus Strait, which separates the Asian and European sides of the city. Ferryboat tickets run for a mere $0.65 or so.

The Blue Mosque: one of the most famous mosques in the world, situated in the most historic district of Istanbul, known as Sultanahmet.

Explore the labyrinth of endless cobblestone streets, and swing by your local market to pick-up all varieties of freshly picked fruits and vegetables.

Ortaköy: one of the most popular neighborhoods of Istanbul, situated directly along the Bosporus. In the background is one of the bridges spanning the east and west.

November 18, 2014

The walls of University Hall are filled with photos that DU students took while studying abroad. These pictures provide a glimpse into their adventures and what they found beautiful. They have shared with us images of sea life off the coast of Australia, sunsets of Africa, castles in Europe, markets in Latin America and so much more. When I was an undergraduate student at DU, I chose to study abroad in Costa Rica. I studied tropical marine biology in the Caribbean Sea. It was the first time I had been abroad without family and it is one of my most treasured memories from college. Seeing the photos in Uhall every day reminds me of my own travel and inspires me to continue traveling and experiencing life.

Since it’s November, I would like to share with you photos I took while on my favorite November traveling experience. Last year, I traveled to Mexico City to celebrate Día de los Muertos - Day of the Dead - with my family and friends and to visit Teotihuacán. Our Mexican tradition of celebrating the spirits of the departed has always been dear to my heart and I wanted to experience the celebration in the Zócalo with other millions of people there to see the public altars. Believe me when I say that the detail and the beauty of these altars took my breath away. I also traveled to Teotihuacán, a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican city of amazing pyramids and exceptionally well-preserved vibrant murals. This was a spiritual trip for me. Through travel I have experienced beautiful, new dimensions of life. So whether you are an experienced traveler or have yet to have traveled far, consider studying abroad and also traveling at different times in your life to continue to learn and grow.

November 11, 2014

In a few days, I will have worked at DU as an International Admission Counselor for five months. In that short time I have attended two different conferences on international student recruitment in both D.C. and Tampa and have participated in two recruitment trips to India and Brazil. What a whirlwind!

A month into my position, I was on my first DU recruitment trip to India. This was not my first time in the country. Four years prior (at the age of 18) I embarked on a month-long backpacking trip – my first independent trip. In brief - this trip was quite different! The schools we visited were wonderful. I found many of the students eager to meet us as they inquired about the many opportunities available to them in the States. For the students it was a matter of making their dreams a reality. In many ways, studying abroad in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree is becoming more popular among Indian students. These were exciting times for students and counselors alike! When not presenting, participating in college fairs, and attending late night receptions bringing to an end on average 14-hour days, I spent my time away in nice and cozy hotel rooms relaxing from the long days!

Answering questions at my first Indian high school : )

Not too long after I arrived home from my India trip, I was on a flight to Brazil. Like India, I had been to Brazil before except I did so through DU’s Cherrington Global Scholars program while I was a DU student. I was ecstatic about this trip and it was more than I could imagine. I visited various high schools with wonderful groups of prospective student applicants. The students were so eager to learn about the Colorado Rocky Mountains and all the many reasons DU was the right fit for them. When not participating in college fairs, I spent my time taking hopscotch breaks and made frequent visits to the beach.

A needed break playing hopscotch before a high school fair

Beach view from hotel room – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Nothing could have prepared me for the whirlwind that was coming my way with this position. However, I would have not wanted it any other way. The lessons I appreciate having learned during this time is embracing change and rolling with the punches. While the trips were exhausting, I got to visit two of my favorite countries and I engaged with wonderful communities. Here’s to more trips like these! : )

November 04, 2014

You can take a breath now. I am sure all of you early action applicants have hit that ever looming “SEND” button to whisk your applications off to your college and university choices. As you hit that send button, you may feel a sense of relief and a weight lifted off of your shoulders, but now comes the hard part… the waiting and wondering and more waiting.

Hurry up and wait! Well… if you pushed the send button on October 31 or November 1, you might not have really hurried along as quickly as some of those students that submitted their application weeks prior to the November 1st deadline, but it is in and now you wait.

Our lives revolve around tools, gadgets, and devices that allow us to get instant gratification, fulfillment, or relief. We access information on our phones, tablets, and computers at the moment of our last key stroke. We text and we respond instantly. We can directly upload videos, photos and our status updates to whatever social media platform we deem most popular. We get acknowledgements, comments, and “likes” from our peers immediately. You can buy apps, music, books, games, movies, and other digital content and it is downloaded in seconds. Homework is submitted online, you can attach documents to email you are sending, even store your digital content in the cloud for others to share and collaborate on… and you apply to colleges online.

So you wait...

One of Merriam-Webster’s definition of “wait” is: to remain in a state in which you expect or hope that something will happen soon.

Unfortunately, there is no instantaneous gratification when it comes to applying to college. You just have to wait. Think of waiting for your admission decision as an exercise to build your character and patience. I can assure you that we all need to be reminded of and build on that skill from time to time.